We had the good fortune of connecting with Patrick Hanahan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrick, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
There’s a lot of pressure to perform optimally 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. At the beginning of my journey, I often gave into this pressure. The constant flow of content from other, and often better artists, both through my peers in school and from external means such as social media and Artstation, often served as a constant push to do more. I often sacrificed my health in pursuit of accelerated growth and a self-created, grandiose, illusion of what it takes to be great. I sacrificed meals, sleep, and any other aspect of my mental and physical health that I felt I could get away with as a “young” individual. This, unsurprisingly, landed me in the emergency room of a hospital during the Fall of 2021. As easy as it could be to blame these external pressures, COVID or anything I’ve mentioned above, the reality is that the way I balanced my work and life would always lead to this inevitable conclusion. I’m glad to say nowadays I’ve begun to somewhat maintain that oh-so desired work life balance. Like many things in life, that balance is not something achieved and obtained, but instead is a constant process. As Aunt May says in Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, “Balance is a process not a destination.” Nowadays, I think about that balance much like my progress as an artist, a constant work in progress. I make sure I prioritize my health and relationships above all, so that when I work I can work at my best. In my opinion it’s a cyclical process, the better you treat your life, the better your time spent working is, which leads to a more satisfied life outside of it. I know that if I neglect one end of the scale, the other will be begin to tip.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It’s hard to say where any of us recently graduated artists are in our story. Graduating into a writer’s strike and a particularly difficult time in both the film and game industry has weighed heavily on us all. I’m extremely fortunate and grateful to have had work for a majority of the time since my graduation, but I’m currently at a spot I didn’t think I’d be in for another decade. I teach in the Game Art and Design program at the Los Angeles City College as a Professor, in tandem with my new position as the Director of Esports. I’m incredibly proud to be where I am, and of course am thankful and humbled to have this opportunity. As to how I got here? It’s a mix. I spent my time in school honing my soft skills as well as my hard skills. My two and a half years as Student Council President helped me develop the confidence and presence capable of commanding respect and attention going into my classrooms as a twenty-three, now twenty-four, year old professor. Of course, the time and dedication to learning game art is what allows me to teach, but I’m glad that I invested in skills outside of being an artist. That is to say, I feel it’s easy for us artists to become consumed by our work. As we put so much of ourselves into our work, we begin to see that work as not just an extension of ourselves, but as a direct indication of who and what we are. The recognition it gets, the awards and prizes, the criticism all too easily becomes directly associated with how we value ourselves, and not just as artists, but as people. I’m extremely proud of the work I’ve created, and the work I continue to create. That work will always be an extension of myself, but I’ve learned… or more so am still learning, that my value as a person is not the same as the value of my art. I will always retain my dream of becoming a Game Director, to create and share stories that I feel only I could tell, but I also aspire to be more than my art. I hope that message is one that resonates, and one that is reflected in my artwork, my teaching, and my lifestyle.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ve been lucky to have quite a few friends visit, so I’m well equipped to answer this question! In my opinion, the best thing about Los Angeles is the food. Eating itself comes in so many different mediums. Taco trucks or small places like Cactus Taquerias #1 is a must, and on the fancier end I always enjoy taking friend from out of town to Barton G. The food there is great, but I specifically love seeing the reactions of my friends and family to the elaborate set pieces served with every dish. Koreatown offers up just about every type of Asian cuisine you could desire, and the night life there is always a good time. Fat Sal’s, Pine & Crane, Din Tai Fung, Intercrew, Queen Violet, there’s too many places to name. As for places not food related, I actively attend the different climbing gyms spread across Los Angeles through Touchstone Climbing. I’m also a sucker for Griffith Park, and if you can find a day that’s not crowded, I do enjoy Griffith Observatory as a space nerd. A trip to the beach is always welcome as well, should you find the right day and time. I do feel fortunate to live in Los Angeles. For all it’s shortcomings, I do feel that it offers just about anything you could want, for the right price of course.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s far too many individuals to mention who helped me along my journey, but I’ll try to name a few. First and foremost, my time at Gnomon is largely responsible for my progress as an artist and a person, the friends I made there and the professors I learned under will stay with me for the rest of my life. I’d specifically like to thank both Anton Napierala and Max Dayan for their exceptional guidance both inside and outside the classroom. There’s far too many lifelong friends I made at Gnomon to shout out, and I don’t want to risk leaving anyone out, but know that I could not have made it through Gnomon without them. Of course, I owe the opportunity to even attend Gnomon to my loving parents, and the continued support of my family, as well as my cousin Sapphire Liu for moving to Los Angeles with me. Finally, I have to thank the people outside of school that have kept me moving: Claudia Chang has kept me sane through everything, and so many of my fondest memories in LA have been made with her. I could not thank her enough. Mason Mitchell has been my best friend for the last decade, he has saved me more times than I can remember, and without him I would not be here.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/pcpatman

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrickmakesstuff/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhanahan/

Image Credits
Substance Media, Inc. Ahmed Mohamed

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.